Latest news with #HouseOversight
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Biden adviser told House panel he was set to receive $8 million if president won reelection
Former senior Biden adviser Mike Donilon told the House Oversight Committee on Thursday that he was paid $4 million working on the former president's 2024 campaign and was set to receive an additional $4 million if he was reelected, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. While Donilon's $4 million salary was first detailed in the book 'Original Sin,' the possible $4 million additional payout for a Biden reelection victory was not previously known. In his closed-door testimony to the committee Donilon defended former President Joe Biden's fitness for office amid reports about his mental and physical decline during his time in the White House. 'What I saw, day in and day out, was a leader who was deeply engaged and in command on critical issues, both at home and abroad,' according to a copy of Donilon's opening statement obtained by CNN. Donilon's testimony to the committee comes as the Republican-led panel has interviewed Biden's top White House aides this week as part of its intensifying investigation into the former president's cognitive decline and possible efforts to conceal it from the public. 'I believed that President Biden was the best person to lead the country on the day he took the oath of office and I continued to believe that was true every day he served as President,' Donilon said in his statement. CNN has reached out to Donilon for comment. This week the committee also met with former Biden counselor Steve Ricchetti, who called the probe an 'unprecedented effort' to intimidate the prior administration Several Biden aides have declined to cooperate with the committee's investigation and invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination after being subpoenaed to appear. Earlier this month, three Biden aides – White House physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor, former assistant to the president and senior adviser to the first lady Anthony Bernal and former assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini – who previously served as director of Oval Office Operations – pleaded the fifth in the face of questions from the panel.
Fox News
a day ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Longtime ex-Biden aide says there was no 'conspiracy' to hide the president's mental acuity
Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports on Steve Ricchetti appearing before a House Oversight Committee panel investigating former President Joe Biden's mental acuity while in office on 'Special Report.'
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Former Biden WH aide arrives for Biden probe interview
Former Counselor to the President Steve Ricchetti arrived for his closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
GOP House committee chair yet to issue a subpoena for Epstein files
A week after a House Oversight subcommittee voted to subpoena the Justice Department for records related to Jeffrey Epstein, the chairman of the full committee still hasn't issued the order. The delay stands in stark contrast to the subpoena Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky) — the House Oversight chairman — issued and signed within 24 hours of a similar subcommittee vote that compelled Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell to testify before Congress. And it raises questions about Republicans' willingness to hold the Trump administration accountable for its failure to release the Epstein files in the face of significant backlash from the president's GOP base.
CBS News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Ghislaine Maxwell wants immunity or a pardon before congressional deposition
Washington — Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of aiding sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is willing to provide information to a congressional committee next month during a deposition but only if she is granted immunity or is pardoned, according to a letter from her attorney obtained by CBS News. Last week, the GOP-led House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence, to sit for a deposition as fallout over the Trump administration's handling of the case continues to intensify. A deposition was scheduled for Aug. 11 at a federal prison in Tallahassee, where Maxwell is serving her sentence. However, in a letter Tuesday addressed to House Oversight chairman Rep. James Comer, Maxwell's attorney David Markus said she is willing to sit before the committee but only after certain legal appeals are finalized or his client is granted clemency or a pardon by President Trump. "Public reports — including your own statements — indicate that the Committee intends to question Ms. Maxwell in prison and without a grant of immunity. Those are non-starters. Ms. Maxwell cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity," Markus wrote. Markus wrote that any questions to Maxwell would have to be given to her in advance to "ensure accuracy and fairness," and that conducting the deposition in prison would create "security risks and undermines the integrity of the process." Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for her role in helping Epstein recruit, groom and abuse underage girls. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 as he faced sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide. Markus wrote that because Maxwell's ongoing appeal to the Supreme Court to overturn her conviction and other legal issues are currently pending, "any testimony she provides now could compromise her constitutional rights, prejudice her legal claims, and potentially taint a future jury pool." However, Markus wrote, if President Trump were to pardon Maxwell or commute her sentence, "she would be willing—and eager—to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, D.C." If those conditions are not agreed to, Markus wrote, Maxwell "will have no choice but to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights." A spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee said in a statement that the committee will respond to Markus' letter "soon," but said it "will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony." In a letter to Maxwell informing her of the subpoena, Comer wrote that the committee is seeking Maxwell's testimony "to inform the consideration of potential legislative solutions to improve federal efforts to combat sex trafficking and reform the use of non-prosecution agreements and/or plea agreements in sex-crime investigations." Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for her role in helping Epstein recruit, groom and abuse underage girls. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 as he faced sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide. Todd Blanche, the second highest-ranking Justice Department official, met with Maxwell in Tallahassee on July 24 and 25 to discuss Epstein. After the questioning had ended, Markus declined to comment "on the substance" of the meeting, but told reporters outside the office that "there were a lot of questions and we went all day." Neither President Trump nor Markus have ruled out the possibility of a pardon for Maxwell, but on Monday Mr. Trump said he is "allowed" to pardon Maxwell but that nobody has asked him to issue one, yet. Scott MacFarlane contributed to this reporting
